


Time Will Tell

by TheEnduringStoryteller



Series: One Shots [4]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, I might make a part two if people want me to, Love Triangle, Romance, You must decide between the two!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-18 03:53:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4691051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEnduringStoryteller/pseuds/TheEnduringStoryteller
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is still having trouble moving on from Peggy and Loki is locked up in Stark Tower in very bad shape. When you start spending time with both Steve and Loki, who will you choose?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time Will Tell

"Hey... Tony." Steve said awkwardly while he stood next to a civilian woman inside Stark Tower.

Tony, who had been working on something on the computer near the bar, turned his head to look at the couple. Steve's awkwardness told him exactly what his friend was up to. 

"What's up?" He asked, though he probably didn't need to.

"This is ___. She's a friend of mine." Steve said, trying to sound level headed, but falling just short.

"Uh huh." Tony said, glancing at the lovely woman with curious eyes. "And is there any particular reason why she's here?"

"Well, you told me to look for people to help Pepper and-"

"You think she's cute don't you?" Tony smirked.

The young woman blushed lightly, while she stood beside the Captain.

"N-No!" Steve said, very flustered. "I mean yes. I mean, yes she's umm... I-I just thought she'd do a good job." Steve said, matching the woman's blush on his cheeks.

Tony chuckled lightly, truly realizing how inexperienced Steve was with women. "You need to get out more Rogers." He remarked, mostly to himself, then walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "Sure, she can work here. She's passive, that's good, I don't want some high strung-"

"Not in front of the lady." Steve chided, knowing Tony was about to curse.

The snarky billionaire rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, like I said, it's fine." He said, then looked at the woman. "Just do whatever Pepper tells you- what was your name again?" Tony asked, gesturing towards her with his square glass.

"___." She reminded politely.

"Right, ___." He said, taking a sip of his drink. "Pepper's in her office right now. Go talk to her and she'll tell you what to do, ok?"

The (e/c) eyed woman nodded then gave Steve a grateful smile before she left the room, and followed the directions J.A.R.V.I.S gave her to Pepper's office.

Tony stared at his friend, thinking to himself with a smug look on his face. 

"What?" Steve defended.

"Where'd you meet her? Sock Hop?" 

Steve looked confused. "What's a 'Sock Hop'?"

"Oh right, after your time. You need to brush up on your history. But, then again, it isn't your history, it's your future, I wonder what you'd call that? ... Weird." Tony said, partially to himself as his mind went on a different tangent.

Steve sighed, looking frustrated. "I met her at the library." 

Tony looked unimpressed. "You know, there are better places to meet women than a concrete building with books in it. But she is cute so, I guess you got lucky there."

Steve stared, his blue eyes looking concerned. "Just don't... do that thing you always do."

"What thing?"

"You always find a way to make me look like a dork." Steve said, unamused.

"Oooh! THAT thing. Na-uh. Too much fun." Tony said, gulping down what was left of his drink, then walking back to his computer.

"Look Stark I-"

"I'm only kidding. ...Kinda."

Steve glared at him, his stature intimidating to nearly anyone, except the cocky billionaire. And of course, Loki.

"Alright, alright. I'll play nice when she's around, I promise." Tony said, which in turn appeased the super soldier.

"Thank you."

~*~

As their conversation went on, ___ introduced herself to her new boss, Miss Pepper Potts.

"Hi... are you Miss Potts?" She asked, knowing it was indeed the woman, but asking anyway to make sure there was no mistake.

"Yes, and... you are?" The redhead asked, tensing up slightly. Pepper was afraid that this unknown woman was one of Tony's ex's.

"(First Name) (Last Name)" She said with a friendly smile to calm Pepper's nerves. "I'm going to be helping you assist Mr. Stark. Captain Rogers met me in a library and-"

"Oooh!" Pepper exclaimed.

 _Tony is probably helping Steve out by letting her work here._ Pepper thought, since she knew that Steve had been pretty lonely for the past few days.

"Well... Basically I need you to run errands for me from time to time, get coffee, pick up the dry cleaning, that kind of thing. I'll also need you to remind me or Tony of appointments, and-" Pepper suddenly faltered, wondering how to explain this to her.

___ waited patiently for her to find her words.

"You remember Loki? The guy who terrorized New York?" She said finally. 

"Yes..."

"Well, from what Tony told me, his dad refused to have him on the same realm as his family and friends. So he ordered that he would be imprisioned here."

"So... what does that mean for me?" ___ said, not following what the woman was eluding to.

"One of your duties will include making sure Loki gets food, and water. He already has everything else he needs in his cell." She said.

 _They way she describes it, it's like he's their pet._ ___ thought to herself, while Pepper continued talking without hesitation. 

"I know it sounds crazy for me to ask you to do that, but Tony has everything locked up tight. Anytime he is within 5 feet of a living being, his electronic cuffs keep him from moving." She explained then chuckled. "This first day he spent in the cell, a fly got in and he was just furious. He was immobilized for nearly six hours!"

The other woman's laughter did nothing for ___'s nerves however at the thought of having to face the trickster every single day.

Pepper's expression faded into professionalism. "He hasn't eaten in a month. He just won't."

"Why is that of any concern to you?" ___ asked, a little confused.

"Thor wants him imprisoned, not dead. Loki's trying to starve himself since Tony took out any other means of termination."

___ looked down in thought, wondering why Loki would do that. He seemed so arrogant and prideful on the news, like he was already king of the world.

Or perhaps he really felt like scum of the earth... Why else would he want to die? What could have happened to him to have twisted his soul into such darkness?

___'s kind heart wanted to believe that he could change. Anyone could, given the right resources, but even more importantly, they needed to want to change on their own.

_Maybe I can help him..._

Her heart desperately wanted to believe that he could at least have redemption, before his life came to an end... 

 

_~~ Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? ...This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... ~~_

 

~*~

 

Loki sat against the wall of his glass "house" with glazed over blue-green eyes, just staring at the little insect from a far, that threatened to possibly engage his handcuffs again.

Not that it mattered really. He was done. Finished. 

There was no one and nothing for him to hope for. Or so the evil bully in his mind told him. He had tried to push that voice away for years but how could he now? What evidence could the cheerful one have to combat his negativity?

 

_Maybe Thor overshadows you at times, but at least your father still believes you could be king too._

**Lies.**

Well, maybe he doesn't believe that, but at least you have parents and you know who you are.

**Lies.**

_... Ok then. Well, who needs them? Right? You can find your own way. Midgardians are so misguided, you can rule them!_

**Failed. Give up Loki, you're worthless.**

_Don't listen to that! At least... at least you have Frigga!_

**Dead for who knows how long. Found out a month ago, by a messenger, because your "brother" really could care less about you.**

_... You're right._

 

This was Loki's timeline in a glimpse, his life in a glance. And he never felt more hopeless than now. No schemes, no tricks, would please him, he'd given up. Completely. 

And that is why he did not even notice when a Midgardian woman entered his cell with some food.

 

The first thing ___ noticed was how incredibly pale his skin was. The next thing she noticed, was his desolate, glossed over eyes, that seemed to be staring at some unknown object behind her in despair, far from reality. 

It broke her heart.

She knew not how to address him so she avoided his name entirely. "Hi... I'm ___, and I'm going to be feeding you from now on..."

He said nothing while she stood there with a silver tray filled with food.

"Well, not feeding you, I mean I- well you know, I bring the food- ...are you ok?" She asked, ending her ramblings while he smiled ever so slightly, nearly unnoticeable, as the fly flew away from the five foot radius.

But again, he said nothing.

She sighed, feeling somewhat responsible for his well being now. 

"Do you not like the food?" She asked, then knelt down beside him when he didn't answer. 

She observed his messed up hair and dirty clothes, silently. Obviously he had given up on keeping a good appearance as well.

"Come on, why don't you take a shower? It can't be pleasant sitting in your own dirt like that." She tried, her voice sweet, as always.

He didn't move, just sat there with his legs stretched out in front of him, waiting with dread for the fly to come back.

Currently his cuffs were already engaged since ___ was next to him, but if the fly lingered too long, he would still be locked in when she left.

"Now, I don't want you thinking that I completely sympathize with you." ___ started, coming to her senses. "You've hurt a lot of people."

She looked at his blank expression and sighed.

"But, I assume you don't need to hear that again." She said, then pat his head, not at all concerned that his hair was filthy to the touch. She was more concerned that a man as proud as Loki seemed to be, was so distraught that he did not even care to rinse it.

"Even rain has a purpose Loki." She said wisely, as she headed towards the door. "But you need to decide what that purpose will be."

He did not stir an inch but did hear her words as she left the cell and walked down the halls. 

And, even though he did not know what she meant by associating rain with purpose, (since Asgardian and Midgardian symbolism did not always align) he did ponder the idea, and it at least it distracted him somewhat.

 

~*~

 

"Hey ___." Steve said shyly, when he saw her pass by him down the halls.

"Oh, hello Steve." She said, sounding a little deflated.

"What's wrong?" Steve asked, his blue eyes filled with concern.

___ shrugged sadly. "Well... I went to give Loki his food and-"

"...Wait, Loki?" 

"Yes, as I said-"

"Why was she in the cell with Loki?" Steve asked Tony, who happened to pass by on the way to his workshop.

"Part of her job." Tony said, then bit into the red apple he was holding. He took note of Steve's appalled expression and said, "What? You expect me to have Pepper keep doing it? He's a mess."

"If anyone's going to deal with him, I think it should be me or you." Steve said sternly.

"Yeah, no. Last time I tried to bring him food, he hissed at me."

"Stark."

"No, I mean it. Like a cat. He doesn't want anyone of any substantial power near him. Besides, the time in there has calmed him down. Pepper says he doesn't talk anymore. Just sits there. And, the cuffs are active anytime anything with a pulse gets near him, so... Yeah, your girlfri- erm, ___ will be fine." Tony said, correcting himself in order to keep his promise to Steve.

"Well... Ok, I guess." Steve said while Tony went off to fiddle with his suits.

"I'd better go see what else Pepper wants me to do." ___ said shyly, then pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 

"Right." Steve said, his body full of nervous energy.

She nodded and started walking down the hall while Steve stood there for a while. 

_Come on Rogers. You punched Hitler in the face over two-hundred times, just ask her out._ He thought to himself.

"H-Hey! Umm..." Steve called, stopping her in her tracks.

She turned around and looked at him with a gentle smile. "Yes?"

"Would you... umm. I mean." He cleared his throat and somehow, found his voice. ...Kind of. "W-Would you like to have din-coffee with me? ... I mean, if you want, I don't want to-"

"Sure." She smiled, putting him out of his misery with an inviting tone.

"Great." He sighed, then watched her leave out of his sight. "You couldn't just spit it out Rogers, could you? Dinner. Is that so hard? Din-coffee. Idiot." He paused a moment. "I wish Bucky were here..."

 

~*~

 

After filing some paperwork for Pepper, as well as some other boring layman's work, ___ decided that she should go check up on Loki.

She headed down the hallway then entered the secure room and was let into the cell by J.A.R.V.I.S.

Loki was still sitting where he was before, with the tray next to him, his food untouched.

"You didn't eat your food... Now, I know what you're thinking, 'this Midgardian woman just wants me alive so that I may be imprisoned forever'. But, honestly that isn't what I want at all. I guess I just hate seeing people sad. Which is why I wasn't so keen on you at first since you have caused quite a bit of trouble. But I think you have it in you to make things right." She said confidently, then sat next to him on the floor and picked up his tray.

He remained silent, his handsome yet vulnerable looking face downcast with a few pieces of hair fallen over his blue-green eyes.

"What good is not eating going to do? You know it's one of the worst ways to die. Your body will start eating itself." She said, concerned and sad.

He glanced at her once then stared straight ahead.

"You don't want to hear the truth do you? Well it is true, now, eat." She insisted with good intentions and slid the tray so half of it rested on his legs and the other half rested on her own.

His eyes shone anger from her demands, but still, he was silent.

"Please? Just one piece of bread. It's yummy. See?" She said, and picked up the fresh bread and showed it to him. 

But again, he did not stir, and with a sigh, she moved so the tray lay on the floor between them, and stood up. 

Her legs felt stiff as she left the cell and locked the door, heading for the kitchen.

"What could have happened to cause him to react this way?" She muttered, as she set the old tray of food on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, ___. About that coffee, um-" Steve started to say.

"Oh right! Did you want to go now? They have sandwiches there too I think, if you haven't eaten lunch."

"Sure." The captain smiled graciously.

 

After having walked to the bottom floor, ___ said, "Shall we take my car?"

"Umm.... I was thinking we'd take my bike." Steve said with a shy smile.

"Sure!" ___ said happily, and followed him to where his bike was parked.

He handed her a helmet, then straddled the bike, and made the engine rumble.

She sat behind him and looked a little nervous.

"You're going to have to hold on tight ma'am." He said, with a grin on his face that she could not see from her perspective.

And as soon as her arms were safely around his firm torso, he sped off to their destination, enjoying the fact that for once he actually had a woman on his bike, instead of having to ride alone.

When they reached the coffee shop, he turned off the engine and flipped the kick stand up.

Steve then dismounted the bike and helped her off, leaving the helmet behind.

"That was fun." ___ smiled happily.

Steve smiled as well, and kept an arm around her as they entered the shop. ___ certainly didn't oppose to this attention.

"What are you going to get?" She asked Steve, while they waited in line and looked at the menu.

"Umm... Coffee..." Steve said, looking confused as to why she would even ask that.

___ chuckled. "Well yes, silly, but I mean what kind?"

The man in front of them stated quickly, "I want a triple venti, sugar free, nonfat, no foam, extra caramel, with whip caramel macchiato. Then pour regular coffee down the side with two packs of raw sugar and a stir stick on the side."

Steve had the funniest expression of perplexity and fear as the man in front of them moved to the side and waited for his coffee.

"That's not coffee... Is it?" Steve asked the female Starbucks worker behind the counter.

"Yes sir. And what would you like today?"

"Umm... Uhh... I'll have... umm..." Steve looked at the menu and sighed. "Do have coffee, just, coffee and creamer? Please?"

"Of course. What size?"

"That medium one there." Steve said, pointing to a cup on display as he began to realize just how much his relatively simple life in the 1930's had disappeared.

"And for you miss?" The woman asked after she had written Steve's order on the cup.

"I'll have an iced, tall, caramel, latte." ___ said, then walked with Steve to find an empty table.

Luckily, few people were there today, and when they found a small round table to sit at inside the coffee shop, Steve politely pulled her chair out for her to sit on.

"Thank you Steve." ___ said politely, and sat down on the seat while Steve sat on his.

"So... These are what coffee shops look like in 2014. Tony told me about this place." He smiled, as he briefly looked around the room. "It looks nice."

Apparently he did not realize that Starbucks was far from a mom and pop business. But, she decided not to peruse it.

"Why aren't there any newspapers? What do you do all day?" Steve asked curiously.

"Well, most people like TV better. But umm... hasn't S.H.I.E.L.D briefed you yet?" She asked.

"No. They mostly give me orders from time to time and I am not going to talk to Tony about it." Steve said as he fiddled with a coffee stirrer from the little cup placed on the table beforehand.

"Well, if you ever want to know anything, I'd be glad to help you." ___ said with a sweet smile as she admired his baby blue eyes.

"No, no. I... I wouldn't want to bore you with how outdated I am." Steve said, now making a pyramid out of unopened sugar packets.

___ sighed, and took his hands into hers, toppling over the pyramid as a result. "Steve. You don't bore me. And you don't need to be so nervous. I'm not going to hurt you." She chuckled slightly, and let go of his hands.

His cheeks flushed a light pink from the contact and he cleared his throat. "Thank you ma'am."

"You can call me ___, you know." She said with a wink as her name was called to pick up the coffee's.

Captain America was turning tomato red from embarrassment. What that woman did to him was maddening.

"Here we are." She said, holding the drinks and walking over to their table, setting them down.

"A toast!" She said playfully, and raised her plastic cup in the air, while Steve did the same.

"To new relationships." She smiled.

"To new relationships." Steve concurred, and they each took a drink of their beverage.

"How do you like it Steve?" ___ asked with a knowing smile.

"This is amazing!"

 

~*~

 

That evening, in the setting of the glass box Loki resided in, with steel floors and cold air, ___ had just entered the container.

"Hi..." She said meekly.

Now Loki was sitting atop his simple cot, with his feet easily touching the floor. His hair was still a greasy, frizzy mess, his eyes were still dull and lifeless and his skin was even paler than usual. 

But, at least he had moved from his former position. That was a start, kinda...

___ walked over to him and sat beside him, with a the tray of chicken, mashed potatoes and vegetables. And for the drink, water. She couldn't convince Tony to let him have juice. (Since he had wasted tons of food and drink as it was)

She stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to find the right words to persuade him to eat. But try as she might, she couldn't think of a thing.

In silence, they sat there. Side by side, Midgardian and Jotun. From two different worlds in nearly every sense of the word. Except pain. Nearly everyone could share that world.

But unfortunately for Loki, that was the only realm in which was real to him. Everything else was a lie. Except pain, and rejection, they were constants. Always the same, always present.

He noticed the fly buzz into the room just outside his cell, obnoxiously flapping its wings together as it threatened to spend its worthless existence torturing Loki.

Buzzing, buzzing, roaming, with it's ugly honeycomb eyes.

To Loki, the fly seemed to be buzzing right in his ear, even though in actuality, the fly was outside his cell. 

It would land any second.

 _Don't come... please don't stay..._ Loki pleaded in his mind, while the mindless insect appeared to find an area it liked and hovered over the spot, threatening to land. 

Loki's heart pounded in anxiety, and in fear, as his eyes watched the tiny menace.

 _Please don't, I beg of you._ Loki whimpered in his thoughts.

The fly buzzed around the area for a few more antagonizing seconds, as if purposely delaying the inevitable.

 _Please, what did I do?! Just leave!_ Loki thought in desperation. 

The fly ignored his plea, and finally landed, just within the five feet...

"NO!!!" Loki suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, jolting the young woman out of her senses.

He sprang up off the bed with great agility and ran over to the glass wall and pounded his cuffed fists against the solid surface, repeatedly. "Why?! Why me?!" He kicked the glass with great force, with only his slippers covering his feet, and bruised his foot in the process of making the wall echo.

"Leave you creature!! Why do you follow me to the ends of the realms?! Why won't you stay away?! You vile beast! HURT SOMEONE ELSE!!!" He screeched at the top of his lungs, then collapsed to the floor in exhaustion, though still entirely conscious. 

___ nearly tripped over herself in trying to get over to him as quickly as possible. "Loki, are you-"

"Leave me alone." He groaned in agony.

"I absolutely am not going to leave you alone. ...You've felt alone for too long as it is, I gather." She said kindly, then pulled him into her lap and cradled his tired form in her arms.

"I said, leave!" Loki barked, but his demands fell on ears deaf by love.

She tilted him down slightly, then kissed his forehead and rocked him gently.

"...W-Why are you... holding me?" Loki questioned, his tone confused and child like.

"Because even though you've done some unforgiveable things, that does not mean that you shouldn't be given a chance for redemption. And I think, that deep down you do want to make things right. You just need someone to show you that love is much more powerful than hate."

He blinked a few times and smiled ever so slightly, taking in her words with mixed feelings.

After a minute or so past, his eyelids became heavy with sleep and her lovely face was the last thing he saw before he fell asleep in her arms.

 

The fly grew tired of that spot, and flew away.

 

~*~

 

"Heard there was quite a commotion last night." Pepper said, when ___ had entered her office for work the following morning.

"Yes..." ___ said quietly.

Pepper stood up from her chair that was placed behind a modern, steel desk and walked over to her. "Tony told me about it." She said, then paused a moment. "But don't get too attached. You can't trust him, and you certainly can't change him. If Thor can't.... I don't think anyone can." Pepper said, sounding concerned.

___ sighed. "I understand what you're saying but-"

"You know... I think Steve has a thing for you." She smiled, as she gathered everything ___ needed to do that day.

___ cocked her head slightly. "Really?"

Pepper shrugged softly. "It's just a suspicion of mine." She said with a knowing smirk, before handing the other woman a few papers.

 

~*~

 

Since the moment Steve saw her, he knew ___ was special. She was patient, kind, and funny, and he loved the little time they had spent together the other day.

But, he was nervous. He wanted to ask her out to dinner but he just didn't know how to go about it. 

How did Tony always know just what to say when it came to women?

"What's up Spangles? ___ on your mind?" Tony asked humorously when he walked into the living room and saw his fellow avenger pacing back and forth.

"What?" Steve said, a little startled.

"If you wanna ask her out, just do it. Like you did last time, except slightly different." Tony said simply.

"I... Yeah I tried that the first time, it turned into coffee..." Steve admitted.

Tony cringed. "Ouch. She turned you down?"

"No, I... I couldn't say dinner..."

Tony bit back a chuckle and cleared his throat. "Well, don't worry, she isn't going anywhere, so you have plenty of time to get up the nerve." Tony said, and plopped down on the couch. "That is... unless she finds someone else first."

 

~The Next Day~

 

It was the afternoon, and the sun was high up in the sky, shining happily within the bright blue hues, above the citizens of New York.

But, unfortunately, ___ was not able to enjoy the sun, since she had work to do. But she didn't mind too much though, because when she was indoors, she was able to talk to Loki.

She entered the cell again with a tray of food, as she usually did, and smiled when she saw that the breakfast she had brought him was at least moved around. Not eaten, but acknowledged somewhat. 

"Hello again." She said sweetly.

For once, he glanced up at her when she spoke and in thanks, she smiled back.

He was sitting against a wall of his cell, with his long legs in front of him, and his hair still filthy, and tossled about.

"Time for lunch." ___ said quietly, then sat down to the right of him, the tray of food on her lap.

"...What did you mean?"

"By what?" She asked tenderly, as if she spoke too loud he'd break.

"By rain. What do you mean that rain has meaning?" He clarified, his voice very faint and weak.

"Well... Rain represents a person's troubles. Some people see it as bad, because it can flood homes, others see it as an opportunity to grow their crops. Same with your problems, you can either see it as your demise, or as an opportunity to grow."

"Hmm." Loki mused thoughtfully. "So... You're saying, that my problems can be a good thing, if I use them to... change?"

She smiled and nodded. "Mmhm."

He looked thoughtful for a moment then turned toward her with a glimmer of playfulness in his eyes. "Then why didn't you just say that?"

She chuckled, glad to see a little life in him. "I tend to speak in metaphors. It's a bad habit of mine." She said humorously. 

"Mmm." Loki hummed thoughtfully, then took the tray of food on her lap, set it on his legs and began eating.

The sensitive woman felt her eyes fill with happy tears, as he ate his food, knowing that this meant so much more than the simple act it may appear to be.

He sensed her gazing at him and turned his head to look at her with an amused smile. "What? Never seen a man eat before?"

She giggled happily and gave him a warm kiss on the cheek. 

His eyelids fluttered in shock and a faint blush appeared on his smooth face. 

"Everything is going to be just fine." She assured, then scooted closer to him and smoothed his hair down.

He looked at ___ in between bites and locked eyes with her once and a while, as he ate.

He thought she was just perfect, and since he was a little more like himself now, he felt a warm feeling within his chest as he sat close to the woman who had saved his life. But what exactly would he do with his new found hope? He wasn't sure.

 

*~*Two Months later*~*

 

Loki had been fairing wonderfully since ___ had begun working there and luckily for both of them, he had taken up bathing again.

"Hello my dear." He said with a suave smile, looking dashing and healthy in his Asgardian attire, just as she entered his cell with his food.

She shook her head in amusement. "Hello Loki." She said with a chuckle.

"You have brought me sustenance, I see." Loki observed.

"Yep." She said with a smile and handed the tray over to him.

He took it with his slender hands and set it on his cot. "I wonder if you might join me this evening, for dinner." Loki offered with a chivalrous tone.

He just knew she'd say yes, the way she looked at him was undeniable according to Loki's perceptive blue-green eyes. 

It was this confidence that was partially the reason behind his elegant attire, clean, slicked back hair, and pleasant scent.

"I wish I could..." ___ said with a frown, the smiled at the thought of her next sentence. "Steve is taking me to a movie tonight."

Loki blinked a few times in disbelief. "Steve? Steve Rogers?" Loki questioned, as if she had said that she was going to the cinema with a chimp.

She looked a little confused and laughed slightly. "Yes, Steve Rogers."

Loki's expressive eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the thought, as he looked to the ground for a few moments.

"But... why?" He asked, then straightened his back so he could face her again.

"Because I like Steve, he's my friend."

"Mmhm." He murmured, with skepticism and disappointment.

"No really! He... He talks about Peggy a lot... I think he still misses her. I'm just um trying to help." ___ said, though her tone did not convince Loki one bit.

___ had feelings for Steve, especially at first, but she started to give it up when he began to talk about Peggy more and more often. Though, she was still disappointed by it. She really did care for Steve, a lot.

"I see..." He mused, and held his hands casually behind his back. "Well, my lovely ___, then I wish to see you tomorrow. When you will be void of any burdens that might keep you away from me." He concluded, with his velvety voice coming on strong. 

She blushed bright red and nodded. "I'll um, I'll c-come at seven."

He smirked upon seeing her rosy cheeks, and gently took her hand. "Until then." He said and kissed her hand softly.

*~*

"How'd you like the movie ___?" Steve asked, eyes all aglow in happiness.

"I liked it a lot." She replied with a smile.

"I thought it was amazing! But then again, I have never seen a modern movie before." He admitted with a cute smile.

She laughed, and held onto his arm during the walk home. 

. . .

"So umm... ___?" Steve said nervously, once inside Stark Tower.

"Yes?"

"W-Would you like to have dincoffe-erm dinner. Din-ner. Gosh I'm stupid." He muttered pitifully.

She smiled gently and took his hands into hers. "You aren't stupid Steve, and you know it."

He smiled just a little but still looked anxious to hear her response.

She sighed nervously. "You mean... Like a date?" She asked, and gently let go of his hands.

Steve ran his fingers through his soft blonde hair and smiled shyly. "Yeah... um kinda." 

"What? So he can fantasize about his dear Peggy?" Came a jealous voice from down the hall.

Steve glared and headed for the source of it, with ___ following after him.

Loki, who had been pacing the cell, stopped when the two Midgardians entered the room. 

"Shouldn't you be wearing a muzzle?" Steve taunted.

Loki chuckled deeply. "My dear ___ wouldn't allow it." He said with a charming smile and a wink towards the blushing woman.

Steve was having none of it, however. "She doesn't belong to you Loki." 

Loki looked perplexed. "I never said she did."

"Then stay away from her." Steve growled.

"Away from whom?"

"You know darn right from who. Stay away from Peggy!" Steve blurted out.

___ felt a pain in her chest and looked down to the floor while Loki basked in his accomplishment for a bit before dawning a serious expression. "You don't love her like I do. You never will, admit it. Every time you see ___ you really want to see-"

"I do love her." Steve said firmly, then turned to look at the woman in question. "___ I really care about you, believe me, I-"

"Steve..." She began gently. "This isn't the first time you've said 'Peggy' in place of my name..."

"It... It isn't?" He asked sadly.

The heartbroken woman shook her head. "I understand that you miss her but-"

"I... I'm so sorry." Steve said remorsefully and gently held both of her hands. "It won't happen again. I promise."

___ sighed softly. "I forgive you Steve, but I just... I can't compete with her anymore..."

Steve's blue eyes dimmed considerably before he spoke up. "I understand... But please, please don't attach yourself with him in my place." Steve said with concern.

"And why shouldn't she?" Loki questioned.

Steve gently let go of her hands and turned to face him. "Don't even try to pretend you care about anything or anyone but yourself." 

"I didn't care about anyone or anything, even myself, until she came into my life. Now my feelings are just as you described, only with her as an addition to my concerns."

"Yeah? And where does she rank? If Thor came in here and said he'd let you free if you killed her, I think we'd all know what you'd do." Steve said harshly.

"Thor wouldn't do that, your example is invalid." Loki replied quickly, evading the question. 

"What would you do Loki?" Steve insisted, while ___ started to look nervous.

"I don't need to answer your pathetic statement I-"

"Say it." 

"-don't have anything to-"

"Say it!"

"-prove to you or anyone else I-"

"What would you do?!"

"I don't know!!" Loki finally admitted with a shriek.

___ felt a stab of pain in her chest upon hearing Loki's answer and cold tears started to form in her eyes. "You... you don't know...?" She whimpered timidly.

Loki sighed, his eyes downcast and conflicted. "I... I'm sorry..."

 

~~~~~~~

So, she had to decide something. Who would she trust? If anyone! 

Loki still craved power, and Steve's heart still belonged to Peggy.

Maybe things would work itself out.

She couldn't be sure. 

Only time would tell...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! :)


End file.
